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Stanton on a tear after post-surgery layoff

Stanton on a tear after post-surgery layoff

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082612 Giancarlo Stanton

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MIAMI -- Giancarlo Stanton had one major question when he underwent right knee surgery in July and was slated to miss a month of action on the disabled list: How would he respond once he returned to the lineup?

So far, the answer has been an obvious one. On Monday, Stanton was named the National League Player of the Week after hitting five homers over the course of seven games. He hit a team-record eight dingers during the Marlins' 11-game road trip, and has an NL-leading 10 homers since Aug. 8, when he returned from surgery.

During that span, Stanton is hitting .296 and slugging .789, the latter number besting his .769 slugging percentage when he won NL Player of the Month in May.

"I had never been on the DL before, so that was one of the questions for me, how I was going to respond to that," Stanton said. "Luckily, I didn't miss a beat."

Stanton's performance has been one of the few bright spots on an otherwise disappointing season for the Marlins, and manager Ozzie Guillen believes there's still more to come from the 22-year-old All-Star slugger.

"It's exciting to see this kid grow and learn how to play," Guillen said. "He's 20-something years old, and he could be one of the most dangerous hitters in the game right now. That's the bright thing of this organization right now. This kid is fun to watch. He goes about his business the right way.

"His learning process is getting quicker every day. It's a very nice surprise the way he has come back from the surgery."